Editorial: A tip of the cap to Greenport

Residents of Greenport came out for a group photo at Mitchell Park last Sunday that was used for the cover of The Suffolk Times this week. (Credit: Katharine Schroeder)

It isn’t necessarily groundbreaking news that Greenport earned recognition last week as the North Fork’s go-to location. From Forbes to Trip Advisor to The New York Times, Greenport has consistently been touted by national and niche media alike as a “must-see” place, which happens to be right in our little corner of the world.

And now, even our own readers have even confirmed it, by naming Greenport the champion in “Game of Hamlets,” a tournament organized by our lifestyle website, northforker.com.

The idea for the tournament — both a playful nod to bracket-crazy March Madness and a friendly competition among neighbors — was conceived last year and rolled out about a month ago. In round one, New Suffolk pulled an upset win over Southold. Orient snuck past Cutchogue. Riverhead demolished Calverton. Greenport — ironically, not even a hamlet — ultimately ended up winning the whole tourney, earning 57 percent of the vote over Orient in the finals.

Greenport has a natural advantage, with its picturesque maritime landscape, which from the start gave any other hamlet on the North Fork a lot to compete with.

But that’s not to take a single thing away from any other community between Wading River and Orient. Still, Greenport’s natural surroundings, coupled with a thriving and hip business district that locals have worked hard to maintain and improve over the years, made the village a fan favorite.

And there’s still plenty of history that lives on there among the new businesses, great restaurants, waterfront park and art galleries. Greenport’s fishing history is the reason the village is as popular as it is today — in fact, if not for the deep harbor, its commercial roots wouldn’t have grown deep so early on. It’s something the village acknowledges publicly each fall with the Maritime Festival — and if you look closely enough, you’ll still see a few intrepid fishermen plying the waters today.

Again, validation of Greenport’s popularity isn’t exactly an earth-shattering editorial. But you never know with these things. Each hamlet along the North Fork offers a little something special of its own and a win by another competitor wouldn’t have been the first upset we’ve seen — nor would it have surprised us all that much.